


Eventually

by cinderella1147



Series: Off The Record [7]
Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 14:06:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18033155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinderella1147/pseuds/cinderella1147
Summary: Part 7 of the series. It has a small reference to Part 5, but could be read as a stand alone, too. Set during and after S3E04 “Contempt.” What if the revelation of Sloan's letter to HR affected Don more than what we had a chance to see?





	Eventually

**Author's Note:**

> Note 1: I have no idea where I was going with this. 
> 
> Note 2: No joke, I don't think this one has a plot. If you find it, please let me know. 
> 
> Note 3: I'm sure there are typos, grammar mistakes. Feel free to point them out to me. :)
> 
> Note 4: Don (and Sloan?) might be slightly OOC in this. I always thought that while he is not "socially inept" like Sloan, he is still uncertain in many things when it comes to relationships. When the circumstances are a bit complicated to begin with, even small things can mess with one's head. Yes, he may be better at "not being alone" than Sloan, but at the end of the day, he has something to loose and that can make anyone vulnerable. Anyhow, I'm curious what you think- let me know: good, bad, meh, etc. :)

_April 21, 2013_

_To whom it may concern,_

_This is to inform all appropriate departments of ACN, as stipulated by company policy,_  
_that I have entered into a personal/social relationship with another employee of ACN, Don Keefer._  
_This personal relationship began late-November 2012._

_While Mr. Keefer is not my supervisor, occasionally I appear on the show that he produces.  
We are committed to avoid any interference at our workplace that this personal relationship may cause._

_Should further questions arise or any additional documentation was necessary, I am at your disposal  
and can be reached through the contact information listed below. _

_Sincerely,_

_Sloan Sabbith_

***  
May 3, 2013  
ACN Office  
[right after Don and Sloan’s confrontation with HR Rep]

“And put those Instagram pictures back!” yelled Geary as he left the floor with an almost visible skip in his steps. The man clearly enjoyed this tiny showdown.  
“Yes, sir!” Don shrieked, and continued to stare into the distance as it dawned on him what just transpired. He sensed that Sloan was standing behind him, but he was unable to form words just yet. The elation over the fact that this silly hide-and-seek was over, and the total and utter confusion he felt about Sloan’s letter to HR, made it difficult to verbalize what he was thinking. Truthfully, he had no idea what to think. Reaching up to loosen his tie slightly, he reminded himself not to jump to any conclusions, but it was not easy. Simply put, she outed them. She didn’t confide him about that particular decision, nor did she warn him when it became clear Geary was after them. And he had no idea why.

The buzz in the bullpen was getting louder. His hand moved to the back of his neck and tried to ease the sudden tightness he felt there. He needed to talk to Sloan. Or, rather, he needed Sloan to tell him what the hell happened exactly. What was she thinking? How could she not tell him about the letter? Did she not trust him enough to have this discussion? Did she think he was going to stop her? What if… Shaking his head, he tried to stop his spinning thoughts. He is going to do something unheard of: instead of “Don Keefering” his way through this situation, he is going to handle it like an actual adult. 

Just as he was about to speak up, reality intervened and the next thing he knew, ACN was sold, Will and Mac got married, and Will was taken to prison. Rollercoaster doesn’t even begin to cover it. Watching the Marshalls drive away with Will left everyone speechless. He turned to Sloan, the disbelief and anger was clear on her face. He gently grabbed her elbow and steered her to his car: time to finally end this surreal day.

***

An hour later they were at his place, wordlessly going through the motions of getting ready for bed. Silence settled over them during the car ride and they were both too tired and too preoccupied by their own thoughts to break it.  
Four hours later, Don was still awake: lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, occasionally turning from one side to the other. The movement caused the bedsheets to brush together, and he was annoyed how loud those motions seemed in the quiet room. Sloan appeared to have fallen asleep a long time ago, and even that annoyed him. He was exhausted, but his mind couldn’t rest. Eventually, he went to grab a glass of water, and moved to the living room. Dropping down near one end of the couch, he continued to chase his thoughts, staring aimlessly out the window. 

He was so absorbed that he didn’t hear when the bedroom door opened some time later. The other end of the couch dipped slightly with Sloan’s weigh and he turned to look at her. The room was almost completely dark, but there was enough light to see her face.  


“I can’t believe you did that,” he said without any preamble and he was struck by how much tension and anger he still felt about that damn letter. Considering everything that happened over the course of the day, he knew it was petty to even bring it up, but he couldn’t let it go.  
Sloan didn’t need much clarification. She sighed, and tried a small, apologetic smile:  
“I told you, I was going to tell you eventually...it just never seem like the right time, but - ”  
He looked at her, shaking his head a little. “Did it even occur to you to consult me before you sent that letter?”  
“Believe it or not, it did.”  
“And?”  
“I decided against it.”  
“Why.”  
Sloan huffed. “Because I didn’t think it would be an issue.”  
“You didn’t th...Why would it not be an issue? Did you think there was a chance HR was going to revise its policies? Or did you think we wouldn’t be together anyway by the time HR found the letter? Please expand on that answer, Professor, because I have no idea what to think.” He heard himself getting progressively louder and knew it was the frustration and fear seeping into his voice. Did she have so little faith in their relationship? Or, worse, was she ready to end it? If Sloan thought he was going let her break up with him without a fight, she was spectacularly wrong. He wasn’t going to throw in the towel and leave without a fight. They deserved a chance, goddamnit. Sure, things were messy and difficult, and he knew he wasn’t perfect, but he was going to do whatever he could to convince her that they can’t end it now. 

He watched as Sloan’s shoulders sagged, seemingly in defeat. Her eyes were tired, but clear, and he was certain she was about to confess that she wanted to break up. That the letter was just to protect them from any accusations, but that this relationship had run its course already. 

“I didn’t think it would be an issue, because when I wrote that letter to HR, transferring wasn’t even on the table- based on Will and Mac, and frankly, you and Maggie, I never even thought this would be a threat to us. I just thought it was a necessary administrative step to make sure we can’t be accused of any wrongdoing.” She brushed her long hair behind an ear, but it was more a nervous gesture, than a real effort to remove the strands from her face.  


Don sighed. Time to give the floor to *adult Keefer.* “Okay, that makes sense...” Then he shook his head in confusion, and turned on the couch to fully face her. “But why not tell me when Geary started his mission of fun? We’ve been hiding from him for days...and you knew the letter existed… What was the point?”  
“I was planning on telling you. Really. I planned it all out.” To his questioning look, Sloan’s features changed to a flustered smile, then she reached toward the coffee table and grabbed her phone.  
“Remember my interview with Shape?” Tapping the screen until she found what she was looking for, she handed the device to Don.  
“The day I wrote the memo to HR, the editor sent me the draft of the article. It was a really nice feature, but I asked for a small correction. I was supposed to get an early copy of the issue with this correction included. My plan was to show you the article before anyone else could see it. I thought it would be a nice surprise, and that the HR memo would be less of a shock after this…” Pressing her lips together in frustration and disappointment, she added “Told you I’m not very good at this.” 

Noticing that Don was still staring at her with question marks flying through his eyes, she pointed at the phone in his hand, “Read the last paragraph.”

_**On balancing career, social life, and dating:** “I’m disciplined, which I think helps when it comes to balancing, but honestly, most of my life revolves around ACN, so it’s not always a conscious effort. My work and personal life are connected in so many different ways, it’s not actually a deliberate decision of trying to fit everything into my day, it’s just happens. I’m at work at ACN for most of the day and sometimes well into the night, but at the same time I’m also with my friends, and the people I respect the most. Sometimes we go to a local bar after the broadcast, and we might be talking about the next day’s show, or the issues from the day before, but we might be talking about personal matters. So, it’s all mixed together and I love that.”  
While she is currently not seeing anyone, in a short, but sweet ramble she joked about already having a Pinterest board full of wedding dresses should the right guy come along- and another Pinterest board on creative wine storage ideas, in case he doesn’t._

_Editor’s Note: since the time of the interview, Ms. Sabbith confirmed her relationship with a longtime friend and colleague at ACN, and have since deleted her wine-rack themed Pinterest folder._

Don’s head shot up when he reached the end.

“Like I said, I’m not very good at this. If it’s not economics, I’m bound to mess it up. I thought this would be a good kind of surprise. I know we’ve been deliberately vague about what we are, but I thought you should know that I do consider this a relationship- despite how much we joked about it.” She huffed again, and re-crossed her arms, trying to settle her nerves. This really wasn’t how she planned this. “Anyway. Then Geary showed up before I got the magazine, we were still hoping to avoid a hostile takeover, Neal was...-is- on the run, and...I didn’t know how to bring any of it up. I -”

“You know, aside for that brief moment 5 minutes ago when I almost had a seizure thinking you were about to break up with me, this was a pretty cute plan.” He said once he found his voice, his expression a mix of wonder and relief.

“Break up? What?” her forehead wrinkled. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“I don’t know… just sort of going from zero… to a hundred, I guess.” Embarrassed, he looked at the phone again. _"...relationship with a longtime friend and colleague at ACN..."_ His heart did a happy jump as he re-read it.  
“But...how?”  
Seeing her genuine confusion, he went on. “What if your reluctance to admit we were in a relationship was because you simply didn’t want to be in one with me? What if you wrote the letter to HR because you already felt like this relationship had run its course, so HR could just speed things up. What if you already thought about moving to a different office and this would be a good chance. What if I did something that made you feel like you can’t be open with me about your doubts or your concerns. What if -”

“Ok, ok, stop,” she said quietly.  
When she told Don that she wasn’t good at not being alone, she meant it. Now her throat tightened at the realization that her clumsy and awkward behaviour could easily be taken as uncertainty **in** Don and **in** the relationship itself. Sure, they never sat down and discussed the finer points of what they were to each other, but Sloan never doubted Don’s commitment. And, if there was anything positive about Geary showing up, it was that she was more certain than ever that they were both in this for the long haul. 

“I’m sorry I made you question how seriously I take this. Us. But I do. Take it seriously, I mean. And for the record, I don’t want to break up and I don’t want to move, either.” She slid closer to him, almost touching, and watched as the last remaining uncertainty disappeared from his eyes while she talked. “We’ll figure out how to make this work- regardless of what happens at ACN. I have no doubt about it. You shouldn’t either.” His hand gently closed over one of hers, the familiar gesture acting as agreement, reassurance, promise. Her other hand settled on his chest, close to his heart. Its beating was steady and strong. With a quick smile and a self-deprecating tone she added, “who knows, I may eventually learn how to act like a human being who wasn’t raised on stock market reports and statistics.” 

Don grinned back and nodded in mock appreciation at this suggestion. “Eventually. I hear it’s a wonderful time of day.” 

***  
As they stumbled back back to the bedroom, Don made a mental note to ask Sloan what Pinterest was, and to find out if she really did have a wedding-dress related folder there. He kinda hoped she did.


End file.
